As a teen, I didn't get invited to the cool parties. Instead, I'd be at adult parties with my parents and their friends, practicing my scowl or hanging out at the kiddie table by choice. Starting around this time, it became clear that children could really relate to me even if my peers did not. Perhaps because I practically was the female Holden Caulfield? When I first read The Catcher in the Rye at 14, I absolutely loathed Holden. When I reread it recently, I was overcome with tears. I'd been so much like Holden and, like him, so full of self-loathing that I instantly rejected him. Only after having accepted my adolescent self was I able to appreciate Holden. I love J.D. Salinger for championing innocence and lambasting phoniness. Be phony around me and you will get this face:

Sometimes I'm amazed that I made to 20 without needing surgery to pry my eyeballs from the back of their sockets. Actual quote about me, age 17: "She's not trying to disrespect you, she just does that with her eyes!" Speaking of attitude...

MAC "Dare to Wear" lip glass in "Gimme That!" has all the spunk I need. It's a loud, almost opaque fuchsia. Yeah, gimme that! This next photo is not my best, but I imagine this is what little kids see when they look at me:

My auntie B. said young children were drawn to my inner light. It's one of the greatest compliments I ever received. Kids don't really care if you're foxy, intellectual, hip or popular. They care if you're being real or not. So, this New Year's, let's all make it an intention to BE REAL!! Nourish your inner Holden Caulfield, embrace the innocence of childhood and ditch the phoniness!

Yeah i have to relate to your story I can't say I'm the kind of kid who goes to parties, the kids who do are so conforming..gross. I love the tights and the boots together sort of looks a bit like jil sander meets givenchy